


Black Coffee

by feelingofthesea



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Language, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Slash, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:20:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25537213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feelingofthesea/pseuds/feelingofthesea
Summary: Draco knows that his parents want him to marry and all he ever did, his whole life, was listen to them, but maybe it's time to to take things in his own hands.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Bill Weasley
Comments: 26
Kudos: 45
Collections: Dumbledore's Armada: Wheel of Death Flash Fiction Comp





	Black Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this creation.
> 
> Written for the Wheel of Death Flash Fiction Comp hosted by Frumpologist in Dumbledore's Armada Discord Server. My chosen character was Bill Weasley. My Wheel of Death prompts were Character: Draco Malfoy, Trope: Coffee Shop AU, Theme: Change, Quote: "The best love affairs are those we never had." - Norman Lindsay. I’d like to thank my beta [GaeligRua](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaeilgeRua/pseuds/GaeilgeRua) for their time and help with the tags.

“Coffee, black.“

Without sparing the server another glance, Draco reached for the pack of cigarettes in the pocket of his Muggle coat and pushed the sunglasses he was wearing further up his nose.

The weather seemed to mock him. It was a ridiculously bright and sunny January morning, and Draco was terribly hungover. He sighed in relief as his searching fingertips finally brushed the smooth plastic of his lighter. The only thing he resented of Muggle London nowadays was that he couldn’t use magic as he pleased. Everything else was an advantage. Especially not running into his  _ fiancé _ . A laugh, laced with malice, bubbled up his throat at the thought of spending the rest of his life with Astoria Greengrass of all people. Even if he was the slightest bit interested in women, his choice certainly wouldn’t have been her. Astoria always had been his parents’ choice. 

A string of smoke escaped his lips as he asked himself,  _ again _ , why he didn’t just tell his them to fuck off. Probably because they were still his  _ parents _ after all and he knew they loved him, despite everything.

“Your coffee, sir.“ The waiter placed a cup in front of him; the saucer held one of those biscuits nobody ever seemed to eat. “Black as you… Malfoy?!“

Groaning Draco took a deep drag of his cigarette before he stumped the remainder in the ashtray and raked a hand over his face. He was so fucking tired, and this murderous headache certainly didn’t help. When even was the last time he got a decent night of sleep? 

“Look, I just want to have my coffee in peace before I might head back to the manor, so… you’re a Weasley.“ It was one of the older two, which one, he wasn’t exactly sure. The good looking one. Not that he would ever admit it. 

The Weasley chuckled. Fucking cheerful Gryffindors, as if life was just roses and sunshine. “Bill actually and just surprised to see you here. I’ll leave you to it then.“ With that, he disappeared back into the shop.

What the hell? 

  
  


___________

  
  


He didn’t go back to the manor, not that he ever really considered it. Instead, he wandered through Muggle London until his hungover state got the better of him and he returned to the small flat he purchased shortly after the war. 

Leaving his shoes next to the front door, Draco drew every curtain on his way to the bedroom shut and immediately collapsed onto the bed after a short trip to the bathroom. 

His relishing of the darkness that turned his headache into a dull throbbing behind his temples didn’t last long. The telltale taping of an owl against the glass of his bedroom window interrupted the quiet peace. 

“Go away!“ Whoever sent this owl was absolutely going to wait, but of course, the bloody beast didn’t give up that easily. Growling, Draco drew his pillow over his head. “Leave me the fuck alone!“

Eventually, the tapping ended, and he drifted off into a light sleep. Although he never slept particularly well after drinking.

  
  


It felt like only seconds later, that pounding at the front door startled him from his sleep. “Draco, I know you are in there, open the fucking door.“

He was going to murder Blaise. “If you don’t show up immediately, Malfoy, I’m going to break through your wards. You know I can do it!“ 

‘ _ Whatever _ ,’ he was just going to erect new ones.

It took Blaise exactly twelve minutes to dismantle the wards. Draco sat by the fireplace and toasted him with a beer bottle as he stepped inside.

“Seriously, Draco?“ Worry was clearly etched in Blaise’s features, but Draco ignored it and just took a healthy swig of beer.

“It’s not as if I invited you over.“

Blaise huffed in annoyance. “Excuse me for wanting to check if you are still alive. You certainly didn’t look like you had it together after you left.“

Levelling Blaise with a challenging look, he brought the bottle to his lips again. “I  _ walked _ back home because I didn’t think it would be wise to apparate. I got coffee at the corner and was about to get some sleep as you so rudely interrupted me. You can see I’m still breathing, so what are you still doing here?“

Slowly Blaise lowered himself into the armchair facing the one occupied by Draco.

“Draco, mate, do you really think it is a good idea to marry Astoria? And then what, will you just live like this, drinking at noon, maybe an affair here and there?“

“Get out.“ His voice was calm, but you could clearly hear the suppressed anger.

“Just talk to your parents, maybe they’ll…“

“Get. The. Fuck. Out, Blaise!“ He was yelling now. He threw the bottle across the room, just to make a point. It hit the opposite wall, liquid staining the white paint as the glass shattered into a million pieces.

__________

Draco didn’t reply to any of the owls that arrived throughout the day. He recognised Blaise’s owl, Theo’s, and finally even Pansy’s, but he just burned each of the letters without reading them. He could imagine what they said anyway.

After Blaise left, he’d opened a bottle of firewhisky and  _ finally  _ got some sleep. The next few days blurred together as he drowned everything in alcohol. Eventually, he hit his breaking point and couldn’t stand it anymore, and when he did, Draco started to drink his coffee regularly at the coffee shop at the corner.

Bill had greeted him with a raised eyebrow as he turned up again after that first time but said nothing. 

The weather this morning at least matched Draco’s mood, it was grey, and a light drizzle was ever-present. He was not exactly hungover this time, but there was this uneasy fluttering in the pit of his stomach, that told him he had too much again last night, or was it already this morning? Turning up the collar of his coat, he still took a seat outside.

“Black coffee as always, Malfoy. Mind if I join you for a smoke?“ Taken by surprise, Draco only nodded as he lit a cigarette himself, and Bill placed a cup in front of him.

The other man slumped into the second chair at the table. Draco eyed him warily as he took a drag of his cigarette and Bill lit his. They smoked in silence for a while, Draco occasionally sipped his coffee, and after he finished his cigarette, Bill just returned to work as if this hadn’t just been a moment of significance. 

Moments like that kept happening. Bill joined him for a cigarette more often than not and Draco kept coming back, noticing things he wasn’t even sure he  _ wanted _ to notice. Bill seemed to like his job at the coffee shop, but he obviously didn’t burn for it. Draco couldn’t remember what his profession was. Judging by his looks, it had to be something dangerous. Every time they saw each other Draco discovered new scars he didn’t notice before. Bill was also definitely the good looking one, though Draco still wasn’t going to admit that. He liked the way loose strands of Bill’s red hair fell into his face, not long enough to stay in the bun at the back of his head. The thing that fascinated Draco the most though were Bill’s eyes. They always seemed to sparkle, not in a mischievous way and certainly not in any fucked up romantic sense. More in this I’m a bloody Gryffindor and life is an adventure way, that annoyed him something terrible but also had a draw to it he couldn't quite name, because there was no way he was falling for Bill Weasley. 

  
  


__________

After Pansy sent him a howler, threatening to send his mother after him, Draco bothered to show up at one of Blaise’s ridiculously extravagant parties again. The timing served him well. He’d stopped drinking alone after taking coffee at the coffee shop became a habit, but he could definitely use a drink now. He probably was falling for Bill Weasley after all, and he didn’t know what to make out of it.

The moment he stepped through the gate of the Zabini estate, a house-elf handed him a glass of elf made wine. Draco downed it with a few large gulps and reached for another one as soon as he finished it.

He couldn’t tell how much later it was, that he found himself smoking on one of the numerous balconies, next to Blaise. His head was pleasantly buzzing, and he enjoyed the way the alcohol had slowed his thoughts.

“You know Draco,“ Blaise started, and Draco couldn’t hold back a deep sigh. There went his peace. “And please don’t throw something at me this time, but my mum always used to say ‘The best love affairs are those we never had.’ I’m pretty sure that’s because she had so many. My point is, don’t marry Astoria, you don’t have to protect your parents anymore, do something for yourself this one time.“

Blaise awkwardly padded Draco’s shoulder before he turned around and left him standing under the dark night sky alone. Maybe it was time to take life in his own hands after all.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, it means the world to me!


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